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NQI overview

Trading relationships are built on, amongst other things, an important structure of standards, agreements, codes and regulations that ensure when businesses and consumers buy something, they get exactly what they expect. For these standards, agreements, codes and regulations to be effective, they must be written and implemented rigorously to ensure that products and services meet the necessary standards for health, safety and sustainability.

The NQI enables this rigour by providing a system of checks and assurance through standardisation, accreditation, measurement, conformity assessment, and enforcement. Through this system, the NQI sits within the broader regulatory ecosystem to maintain trust, safety and reliability in products and services that businesses and consumers buy and sell.

Core components of the NQI

The NQI has five core components:

Standardisation 鈥� standards describe good practice for how things are done and made. They can take the form of specifications, codes of practice, guides, or test methods. Developed through a stakeholder-driven process based on the principles of consensus, openness and transparency, standards help to maximise efficiency, reduce costs, manage risk, and ensure trust. They differ from regulation in that they are almost always voluntary, though certain standards can demonstrate conformity with legislative requirements and are recognised by government for that purpose. Standards are usually periodically reviewed and can be updated to reflect new requirements.

Accreditation 鈥� determines the technical competence and integrity of organisations offering conformity assessment services. This includes certification, calibration, inspection and testing services offered by conformity assessment bodies. Accreditation may assess conformity with a standard, a code of practice, or compliance with regulatory requirements. This is separate from certification, which is the process of approving an organisation鈥檚 compliance with a standard or equivalent, such as a designated standard.

鈥� supports technical infrastructure by providing accurate reference standards for measurement. These reference standards form the basis for conformity assessment activities, such as calibration, trade metrology services, and testing, in regulatory and industrial sectors. The UK鈥檚 national measurement standards provide the highest reference point to the (SI), maintained by the UK鈥檚 National Measurement Institute (NMI) and Designated Institutes (DIs) under funding from the National Measurement System (NMS). This international system helps to ensure that the units of measurement used by business, and for research and innovation, are consistent and comparable worldwide.

Conformity assessment 鈥� is the process of verifying that a product, service, process, or system meets specific requirements, whether defined by legislation, standards, or other criteria. It includes activities such as testing, inspection, and certification. The organisations that carry out these checks are called conformity assessment bodies (CABs). The 鈥� developed and operated by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) 鈥� is the definitive source and a register of UK Government appointed CABs who can certify goods for both the GB and NI markets.

Enforcement 鈥� this involves monitoring the market to identify and address non-compliance and product safety risks. This helps to protect consumers and businesses from product-related harm by ensuring products meet safety standards and regulations. If products do not meet the applicable safety requirements, steps are taken to ensure requirements are met or to impose penalties.

Delivery of the NQI

The UK鈥檚 NQI is largely delivered by these institutions:

BSI 鈥� The is the UK鈥檚 National Standards Body (NSB) responsible for producing national and international standards. BSI has a Memorandum of Understanding with DBT as its sponsoring department. This provides a framework for BSI and the government to meet the challenges to the UK鈥檚 standards-making infrastructure, and recognises BSI as the UK鈥檚 NSB, responsible for the UK publication, in English, of international and European standards.

UKAS 鈥� The is the UK鈥檚 National Accreditation Body (NAB). UKAS accreditation assures the competence, impartiality and integrity of testing, calibration, inspection and certification bodies. DBT sponsors the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), as the UK鈥檚 NAB under the Accreditation Regulations 2009.

NPL 鈥� The is the UK鈥檚 National Measurement Metrology Institute (NMI) responsible for developing and maintaining the UK鈥檚 primary measurement standards, as well as collaborating with other NMIs to maintain the international system of measurement. NPL is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

OPSS 鈥� The Office for Product Safety and Standards (part of the Department for Business and Trade) is the UK鈥檚 national product regulator. OPSS leads on general government policy for both accreditation and standards-making across government (other government departments and agencies are responsible for the application of accreditation policy to their areas of responsibility, as well as specific individual standards). As the national regulator for metrology, OPSS holds the UK鈥檚 secondary measurement standards for mass, length and volume, and supports local authorities in enforcing weights and measures regulations.

Local Authorities 鈥� Local authorities through Trading Standards in Great Britain (GB), and the Trading Standards Service in Northern Ireland (NI) enforce weights and measures regulations. They ensure that businesses accurately measure goods and that consumers receive what they pay for. This involves verifying weighing and measuring equipment, inspecting products, and investigating complaints of short measures.

Benefits of the NQI to the UK economy

Through the five pillars and the institutions above, the NQI supports and facilitates both regulatory delivery and international trade and is an essential component of any free trade agreement. It underpins World Trade Organization rules on eliminating technical barriers to trade (TBTs) by the acceptance of international standards and the mutual recognition of conformity assessment results and regulatory equivalence. The outcome is increased confidence in domestic and international markets, greater participation in global trade and a stable regulatory environment that encourages investment, supports infrastructure development and the delivery of economic growth.

Some of the benefits of the NQI are:

• rigorous standards that help create better, safer, more sustainable products
• knowledge from standards and measurement techniques to enable more innovation and faster commercialisation of innovation, creating new markets at home and abroad for UK businesses
• increased exports through reduction in technical barriers to international trade
• improved business performance and productivity, increasing domestic commercial activity and competitiveness in international markets
• removal of the need for duplications of standards, tests, regulations and accreditations, thus reducing the costs of international trade
• enhanced consumer protection
• strong representation in the international fora that shape the development of international rules for standards, accreditation and measurement
• increase in the appeal of the UK to overseas direct investors